In 2011 I took a ride in the Western Maryland Rail Road Trail and saw a number of cyclists riding by the side of the train. Shortly thereafter I learned that the trail is part of the Great Allegheny Passage which starts in Cumberland, Maryland and ends in Pittsburgh. I live in Northern Virginia and after some additional research I learned of the C&O Trail which starts in Georgetown, DC and ends in Cumberland.
I had wanted to cycle from Washington DC to Pittsburgh or vice versa for the last 2 years and after weighing the pros and cons of a few different options (cycling with a group or cycling solo, cycling in summer, fall or the spring, cycling from Pittsburgh to DC or from DC to Pittsburgh), I opted to cycle solo from DC to Pittsburgh in the fall of 2016.
Details of the plan:
Day 1: Northern Virginia --> Washington DC --> Shepherdstown, West Virginia (~ 78 miles)
Day 2: Shepherdstown,West Virginia to Paw Paw, Maryland (~ 87 miles)
Day 3: Cycle from Paw Paw, Maryland to Rockwood, Pennsylvania (~ 74 miles)
Day 4: Cycle from Rockwood, Pennsylvania to West Newton, Pennsylvania (~71 miles)
Day 5: Cycle from West Newton, Pennsylvania to Point State Park in Pittsburgh (~39 miles)
Day 6: Take the Capital Train 30 from Pittsburgh to Washington DC
From my perspective. this plan was a challenging plan given that I had barely logged 1,000 miles of training in 2016.
A few details about what I used for the bike trip:
Bike - Specialized Tricross 2011 model with 32C tires.
Panniers - Topeak MTX Trunk Bag DXP Bicycle Trunk Bag with Rigid Molded Panels
(This bag comes with expandable panniers ; however it is not considered as typical touring gear)
I also purchased the rain covers for the bag.
Clothing:
Under Armour Long Sleeve Running Shirts
Under Armour Cold Gear Shirt
Specialized Mountain Bike Shorts
Bontrager Bike Shorts
Marmot PreCip Rain Jacket
Electronics
1 Veho VCC-006-K2NPNG (I prefer this to Gopro as it is a better value for money). Also "NPNG" stands for "No proof no glory".
Day 1 of the Trip (October 21st) - Arlington, VA to Washington DC to Shepherdstown, WV.
Weather: Temperature ~ 66 F, Wet and humid
I started from the town of Arlington in Northern Virginia and used local roads to go to the start of the Key Bridge that leads to George Town.After a couple of local roads, I landed at the intersection of Lee Highway and Fort Myer road which is close to the Rosslyn Key Bridge.
Shortly after crossing the bridge, I entered the busy M Street in Georgetown. From this street, I took a right on 30th street and after a few miscues and some help from another rider, I headed to the Capital Crescent Trail, which is a paved trail that runs parallel to the C&O trail.
I finally started on my way to Cumberland by riding in the Capital Crescent trail before moving over to C&O Canal near mile marker 4 and proceeded to mile marker 5.
7 or 8 miles later I rode into the part of the C&O Canal where the canal opens up. This particular site appears to be popular with photographers.
A little later I came close to the beautiful Great falls which is a popular place to visit in Washington DC.
After a short time in Great falls I proceeded to Whites Ferry which was my next stop.
After lunch at the White's Ferry restaurant (notice the history of flood), I resumed my trip.
Near the 45 mile marker in C&O Canal trail, it started raining somewhat abruptly and I did not have the time to mount the camera inside the water proof casing. All electronic items went to protective water proof covers and I put on the Marmot rain jacket. For the next 28 miles it never stopped raining completely and even as I pulled into Shepherdstown, WV there was a steady drizzle.
In order to enter the city of Shepherdstown, I needed to go uphill in a winding path with several turns, cross the Potomac river and then had to cycle a couple of miles before arriving at Quality Inn in Shepherdstown. After cleaning the bike I checked into the hotel. The Quality Inn is a bit further away(1/2 mile or so) from the main street(W German Street) in Shepherdstown and since it was raining intermittently I decided not to venture away from from the hotel. In other circumstances, I would have liked to dine in one of the many fine restaurants that Shepherdstown has to offer.
That concludes the first day of my trip from Washington DC to Pittsburgh.
I had wanted to cycle from Washington DC to Pittsburgh or vice versa for the last 2 years and after weighing the pros and cons of a few different options (cycling with a group or cycling solo, cycling in summer, fall or the spring, cycling from Pittsburgh to DC or from DC to Pittsburgh), I opted to cycle solo from DC to Pittsburgh in the fall of 2016.
Details of the plan:
Day 1: Northern Virginia --> Washington DC --> Shepherdstown, West Virginia (~ 78 miles)
Day 2: Shepherdstown,West Virginia to Paw Paw, Maryland (~ 87 miles)
Day 3: Cycle from Paw Paw, Maryland to Rockwood, Pennsylvania (~ 74 miles)
Day 4: Cycle from Rockwood, Pennsylvania to West Newton, Pennsylvania (~71 miles)
Day 5: Cycle from West Newton, Pennsylvania to Point State Park in Pittsburgh (~39 miles)
Day 6: Take the Capital Train 30 from Pittsburgh to Washington DC
From my perspective. this plan was a challenging plan given that I had barely logged 1,000 miles of training in 2016.
A few details about what I used for the bike trip:
Bike - Specialized Tricross 2011 model with 32C tires.
Panniers - Topeak MTX Trunk Bag DXP Bicycle Trunk Bag with Rigid Molded Panels
(This bag comes with expandable panniers ; however it is not considered as typical touring gear)
I also purchased the rain covers for the bag.
Clothing:
Under Armour Long Sleeve Running Shirts
Under Armour Cold Gear Shirt
Specialized Mountain Bike Shorts
Bontrager Bike Shorts
Marmot PreCip Rain Jacket
Electronics
1 Veho VCC-006-K2NPNG (I prefer this to Gopro as it is a better value for money). Also "NPNG" stands for "No proof no glory".
Day 1 of the Trip (October 21st) - Arlington, VA to Washington DC to Shepherdstown, WV.
Weather: Temperature ~ 66 F, Wet and humid
I started from the town of Arlington in Northern Virginia and used local roads to go to the start of the Key Bridge that leads to George Town.After a couple of local roads, I landed at the intersection of Lee Highway and Fort Myer road which is close to the Rosslyn Key Bridge.
Shortly after crossing the bridge, I entered the busy M Street in Georgetown. From this street, I took a right on 30th street and after a few miscues and some help from another rider, I headed to the Capital Crescent Trail, which is a paved trail that runs parallel to the C&O trail.
I finally started on my way to Cumberland by riding in the Capital Crescent trail before moving over to C&O Canal near mile marker 4 and proceeded to mile marker 5.
7 or 8 miles later I rode into the part of the C&O Canal where the canal opens up. This particular site appears to be popular with photographers.
A little later I came close to the beautiful Great falls which is a popular place to visit in Washington DC.
After a short time in Great falls I proceeded to Whites Ferry which was my next stop.
After lunch at the White's Ferry restaurant (notice the history of flood), I resumed my trip.
Near the 45 mile marker in C&O Canal trail, it started raining somewhat abruptly and I did not have the time to mount the camera inside the water proof casing. All electronic items went to protective water proof covers and I put on the Marmot rain jacket. For the next 28 miles it never stopped raining completely and even as I pulled into Shepherdstown, WV there was a steady drizzle.
In order to enter the city of Shepherdstown, I needed to go uphill in a winding path with several turns, cross the Potomac river and then had to cycle a couple of miles before arriving at Quality Inn in Shepherdstown. After cleaning the bike I checked into the hotel. The Quality Inn is a bit further away(1/2 mile or so) from the main street(W German Street) in Shepherdstown and since it was raining intermittently I decided not to venture away from from the hotel. In other circumstances, I would have liked to dine in one of the many fine restaurants that Shepherdstown has to offer.
That concludes the first day of my trip from Washington DC to Pittsburgh.
No comments:
Post a Comment